HTC Windows Phone live blog, live from New York City

We are live in New York City to see what HTC is prepared to reveal to the world. Rumors of an HTC One M8 running WIndows Phone instead of Android is on top of the list, destined for Verizon Wireless in the US. Will it hold true and what else will they tell us? Tune in to find out.

Going to be interesting to see how the public reacts since the choice is reduced to simply the OS and ecosystems now that hardware is removed from the equation.
I also hope that carrier reps give it a proper push. Might be a little much to hope for though since when I visited an ATT store today the store manager had not even heard of this.

They have however redone their store, designed it as a specialty shop, with a section dedicated to windows phone, featuring Cortana. Also a section focused on Surface.

They also sold out of their Lumia 635s. They had 20.

Microsoft should be pushing Cortana, specific advantageous features of the Windows Phone platform AND the devices that are on the market REALLY HARD, right now. When the iPhone 6, with its highly durable sapphire display, Apples finally capitulating to consumer demand with larger 4.7" &5.5" displays and whatever nifty tricks iOS8 brings to the phone and its communication with the Mac and iWatch, the world, the media, bloggers and social media are going to be ALL about Apple and the iPhone.

Microsoft will barely be heard above the fervor in a couple of months. They should really be trying to grab as much attention for the phone now while its relatively "quiet".

I hadn't seen a Windows phone commercial in a while until the recent Cortana vs Siri one. Tgat was good. Samsung however is KILLING with really attention getting commercials. One of the most recent makes it look like the created Kids Corner!!!

I think Microsoft, even in the absence of flagships, they can focus advertising unique Windows Phone features.

Hopefully HTC and carriers will HEAVILY market this device. It definitely has an angle to play as the ONLY device in the market which shares the same hardware but it's powered by different Operating Systems.

@lippidp, I hear ya went through the same thing when the 920 was released (not one store but all the phone stores for carphone warehouse, Phones4U and EE (since it was a time exclusive on EE). In the end I got it sim unlocked off Clove.co.uk.

I purchased my Icon from Craigslist (brand new in the box). I brought it in to get it set up and the woman never registered this type of phone before. She was amazed how easy it was. Of course she had an iPhone and 90% of the customers in the store did as well.
I then wanted to buy a case and they didn't have one. Went to Best buy and of course none, but three rows of iPhone cases.

Agree 100% Strange thing is, an 8 year old could dream up even a mediocre campaign. Why they can't, I do not know. I can only imagine it is because they don't want to / don't think it is important. Needs a worldwide push along the lines of the Windows 95 one, which was huge. They need to fookin' project commercials onto the surface of the moon to get attention!

Same hardware, probably same price too. Unless instructed by managers, why would a rep sell someone a WP over Android? Even with 300K apps in the store, there are still missing apps that people would want. Most apps are still iPhone first, Android second, WP never. The change of an unhappy customer coming back with their phone is just higher with WP.

I always thought WP had a demo problem. The device really shines once you log in with your accounts (a little less now that the My tile is useless). They did these "behind the tiles" events at Best Buy when the Lumia 900 was released, they gave each person a device and had everyone log in with an account. That was a great way to show off the phone.

Maybe some users would look at the OS (where WP's design makes it look much better than Android) and that will sway their choice. Other than that, I'm not sure how it can sell well going head to head with Android.

I just cross checked the Windows Store app selection for my personal needs. I'm now the owner of the HTC One (M7) for almost a year now, but lately i'm really interested in Windows Phone.

So after being a part of the WPcentral community for a couple of months now i'd thought to my self maybe I need to check the app selection for my self.

Every major app I use on Android is availible. The only things missing are some big games, but hell its not like I need to play candy crush anyway. Most mobile games suck in my opinion, as a hardcore PC gamer with a big love for steam, id rather play my time away with real games ;)

I still have a year on contract so I wont be switching anytime soon (or the Lumia 830/730 have to come with good specs and a reasoneble off contract price) so the situation can only be better by then.

And remember I live in the Netherlands, WP has a really low market share here, perhaps even below its global share last quarter. So its really nice to see so many big dutch apps supporting the platform.

I want to have someting different, not be one of the masses, thats why I chose for HTC instead of Samsung when I decided to leave my iPhone behind last year ;) I think there are a lot of people wanting to be different, its to them Microsoft has to apeal. And having a HTC One (m8) running Windows Phone would sure make you stand out of the crowd!

That's a marketing idea right away "Be different, not the same the old boring row of icons?" MS marketing is really boring, they are still thinking enterprise, fail to realize that a smart phone is personal. :-(

Just recycle value, Icon is currently $154 good condition. Ativ SE, $200. Really messed up considering in true recycle value there's far more metal in an Icon. But this is way better than I thought. Figured I'd get $100 each on them.

SD card, and I like a phone that fits my hand. I actually like my SE better than my Icon because it's feather light and sits well in the hand and pocket. But Samsung cut too many corners on the hardware.

Which is sadly I go on other sites to do that. As much as I love WPC and MN, not all of my content I like they have, so I go on pocketnow, or even CNET (EWW).

I know MN can't do everything I like, but I'm just saying that they don't have all of my favorite content. I still prefer MN though. Best community, smartest writers, a non-disgus (or whatever it's called) commenting system, etc.

I guess they might as well do that if the test succeeds. Exclusive to Verizon, I would think of it as a beta test for now. But, I fear this test shall not result in failure for its own reason of exclusivity.

If its exclusive to verizon they will get an F on test. 928 didnt succeed (there were a looot of devices with problems: freezing, rebooting. Been there know that, but mine works good now) Icon also failed; many problems, no glance, no SD (ppl need it). This HTC will fail. What it has that 928 & Icon don't? only SD, and useless speakers in front. And 4upx camera (8.7 w/xenon, 20mp on others)

SD, weight, ergonomics, and style. This phone sits WAY better in the hand and pocket than the 928/929 brick phones and that goes a hell of a long way. Oh and releases with 8.1 update 1 which 928/929 still don't have.

Not on Verizon they don't. 928/929 were the comparison models. If Verizon had the 1520 I'd go for it instead for the larger screen. As for support, the One has all the updates on release. Verizon hasn't updated the 928 or 929.

Useless speakers? You high man? I use speakers on my phone every day on my 920! Speakers are very important to me, even more so than the camera. And you should also note many people like a lot of storage. You are limited forever to 32GB on the 930, but with microSD, you get built in storage and your choice of size with external storage.
And the camera isn't that bad. It isn't amazing, and not better than Pureview, but not bad for quick shots when you need it.

I wish I could use the speakers on my 822, but one of them never worked so listening to the speakers is really low. Also, my USB charging port stopped working and I'm forced to wirelessly charge which I thought was cool at first, but sometimes impractical.

LOL... I had a Samsung running Froyo on Virgin a couple of years ago that was SO sketchy it really turned me off Samsung something fierce. I then switched to a Motorola on Froyo as well that acted quite a bit better. Maybe Samsung makes better phones now, but I'm always going to remember that little nightmare.

I am actually kind of excited about this! I am an Icon owner, and while I was originally excited about the 20mp camera, I have found 2 things - 1) I hardly ever use the zoom; and 2) I SO wish it was faster at taking a picture... There is such a lag! I am actually excited to see of the ultrapixel camera offers faster shot time and good quality shots....

Richard, if you use the default Windows Phone camera app, which has received some nice improvements(of course its no Nokia Camera app):-) do you still see a lag, or is it a bit faster between shots?
My experience on my 1020 is that the default camera, because it is not taking the larger shots, not oversampling it and producing a smaller megapixel pic, and not saving as much data, that it's much faster.
If you're looking to take quick shots, in an effort not to miss the moment, and still have a pic that ranks up there with what the iPhone and Samsung devices produce, I believe using the default Windows Phone camera will remove that lag for you and still capture the memory in a satisfying pic.

I am more referring to the lag between when you press the capture button and when it actually takes the picture - not the 'saving lag' between pictures. I tried the normal WP camera app and it was not any better. Thank you for the recommendation though!

I have a feeling that the constant focus (Cyan update) will help somewhat with this (if Verizon ever gets it out to us).

Regarding the HTC One, I have seen some pretty decent action shots with the Android version, so it must be able to take pictures quickly. I just know that it is almost impossible with the Icon (at least without Cyan) to get the action shots of my cats or anything while riding in a car - just not quick enough.

Almost more important than the hardware and how it compares to the Android One M8, is the language both HTC and Microsoft use to describe the phone and its lineage.
I will be watching XDA forums to see if/when someone ports Windows Phone 8.1 to the Android model. That could be a great upgrade for Android enthusiasts who are weary of WP.

I would go for 20MP OIS and wireless charging if I had the choice. I cannot live without wireless charging and I like to be able to take great photos and videos. The dot view case is nice and so are the speakers, but less important to me than a good camera and Qi support.

It seems I'm the only one on this site who doesn't give to sh*ts about wireless charging. I have a 920, the first WP with wireless charging. I have the speakers and the pads, and it's a gimmick for me. I like to use my phone comfortably while it's charging, and I prefer faster charging speeds.

Nah, I don't care to much about wireless charging either. It's a nice party trick but most of the time I plug the 920 in. If I NEEDED it, I'd just buy a case and keep it at home for when I want to charge it.

If low light photos are your thing, get this phone but if you take a lot of photos during the day and there's usually a lot of light reflection around do not get it. light reflections come off as purple instead of white in that camera and there's color loss. Also that terrible resolution. The photos only look nice on mobile, on anything else just no.

Average person isn't that enthralled with cameras, maybe selfies and this is supposed to have one of the better selfie cameras. If the back shooter is better than the M7 camera, it is more than sufficient for the average person.

HTC would be a great addition to the Windows platform only sucks for MS that an outside company can create a better device than their own, but this is not a defeat but a positive for the ecosystem and for research and development teams to up the ante !!!! Do it HTC

My wife uses the htc M8 and it's a beautifully built phone. Impressive. I'd love to see this device not remain a carrier exclusive and be released as widely as possible. No repeat of the icon fiasco. Get this to Europe. MSFT need something hard hitting now!!!! Of course they may have their own flagship in the wings...

I see, thanks for the response! I'm hoping there is something they've been hiding - people were not expecting the surface pro 3... I live in hope! The 830 has my interest. Perhaps not fighting the other systems in the high end, this autumn, may pay off for msft... Even blackberry has a high end device cooking out so I would like to see something. Then again, this IS high end!!!

Haha, no need to say thank you and likewise I am hoping they are keeping something under wraps. It may help not fighting in the high end range, not sure how though as I have been digging around the Qualcomm Reference Design programme and couldn't find any references to high end SOC's (unless they have that locked down under a OEM login). So there may not be any high end devices from other OEMs (other than the high profile ones) any time soon.

The HTC M8 is what we need right now in terms of a high profile high end device, shame it is locked to the US under Verizon right now..

Whats the chance of it coming to the UK,I'm waiting on that decision before I choose the Lumia 930 over it. The SD card is a major plus point over the 930 for me. Owning a HTC One M7 at the moment I know what the excellent bulid quaility is like from HTC.

Now, I'm not saying this will be one interesting phone. But its strange to see people just dropping everything for a company that have a bad track record on support and services for years now. Sure, they look pretty and all, but there is more then looks in a phone.

Be nice if they surprised us and announced the HTC Mini 2 was also launching with WP os. That would be a real gain for MS..once they advertised it heavily and pushed marketing dollars at carriers to push it from in store promotions in all markets (Not just US) etc. Big ask knowing what Microsoft is like with advertising.

I still cannot bring myself to see this phone as replacing my Lumia 1520 (as unlocked variant as I am on AT&T). I seriously want a 5" screen with micro SD. Pics are a necessity and these Lumia cameras (on the high end) are just too superior for me to go back to 5mp variants.

From what I've seen of this device it's rather nice looking. If it was one T-MO US I would trade in my L925 for it. I'm happy to see a good looking good spec WP8.1 device Even better that it's not Nokia doing it. I owned the HTC HD7 it never ran well even the replacements. I have friends that own the HTC One and One max. they run nice. So yea, I would give them "HTC" one more shot.

Hoping that HTC will throw its full support behind this phone. Windows Phone needs some more OEMs rooting for it and can only benefit from challenge and diversification. I like Nokia just like the next person, but that's the value of each and every OEM. They have their own loyal fan base and innovations that can only serve to expand and improve the Windows Phone ecosystem. For example Nokia has no inroads into USA wireless carrier Sprint, HTC however does. Imagine if Sprint while rebuilding themselves used Windows Phone and HTC to launch an all out attack on other wireless carriers setting themselves apart from everyone else. (Of course they shouldn't offer only Windows Phone as that would be a massive struggle on their part, but use it as a distinguishing factor) Combining all these loose ends into a united picture could make some great headway and change for the wireless industry. I myself am on Verizon and haven't been too impressed with their own marketing attempts. It's time for as many carriers and OEMs to utilize Windows Phone as something different. Excited to see what happens in the next couple of years.

HTC is following the exclusivity marketing for the One WP! Ugh! If it goes to Verizon; which I think is the worse WP sales staff since the WP are either not display and left in the stock room or the Verizon sales associate just tell you to get an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy! Totally lame marketing strategy for WP penetration in the U.S. marketplace.

Yeah, that was all obvious... Blah, blah, somebody ask about the 8X !!!

Otherwise, this is UNACCEPTABLE ! Putting a new phone out there, basically forcing users who want to have the latest updates to buy the newer phone... IT'S BEEN MONTHS NOW, no 8.1, no update one, no Cortana...